Brief Prosperity

Following the emergence of the publishing industry in the 1930 s,periodicals like newspapers and magazines soon became the major media to run and spread manga in China.From the perspectives of phenomenology,statistics and fine arts,the author collects,classifies and analyzes manga periodicals published during the heyday of the 1934-1937 period in Shanghai to explore such four topics as manga features of the period,foundation for the heyday,artistic features of manga development and expression of as well as interplay between beauty and ugliness in manga of the period.The author aims to investigate manga development and philosophies of beauty and ugliness in manga created during the period.The flourishing of manga throughout 1934 and 1937 emerged amidst the turbulence of confrontation,collision and integration of ideas in transitional China.Against the backdrop of political reforms,economic development,confrontational ideas,shift in lifestyles as well as the tug-of-wars between Chinese and foreign interest groups,there appeared in China all kinds of contradictions,conflicts and clashes which gave rise to the interplay between beauty and ugliness as far as manga aesthetics is concerned.The beauty-ugliness interplay was in effect a source of subjects pursued by manga artists during the heyday of manga throughout 1934 and 1937.As such,the artistic expressions of beauty and ugliness in manga in return showcase the various social contradictions and collisions of the time.In other words,manga artists of the time revived in their productions the kaleidoscopic values and philosophies of the mid-1930 s Chinese society in the interplay between beauty and ugliness in artistic manner.To conclude,manga turns out a true-to-life portrayal of the contradictions and collisions of the time,reflecting new Chinese insights into beauty and ugliness.